U-Hi staging classic musical

University High School drama students will be taking audiences out to the ball game during performances of their spring musical, “Damn Yankees.”

The story is set in the 1950s and involves Joe Boyd, an ardent fan of the Washington Senators baseball team, who makes a deal with the devil to turn into superstar player Joe Hardy so his team can beat the New York Yankees.

A 26-student orchestra under the direction of Russell Seaton will play each night. Performances begin Thursday, and curtain is at 7 p.m. on May 21-23 and 28-30. Tickets are $7.

The cast includes Patrick Wolfe as Joe Hardy; Kylene Peden as his wife, Meg; Danny Bush as the Devil; Jessii Arp as the Devil’s assistant Lola; LeeAnne Frahn as Gloria Thorpe; Kacie Campbell as Sister; Chandler Watson as Doris; Willy Dowling as Coach Van Buren; Jordan Taylor as Smokey; Riley Connolly as Rocky; and Jonathan Badamian as Sohovik.

Robotics Tournament

The Central Valley High School robotics team competed in the Microsoft Regional U.S. First Robotics Tournament in Seattle in March. The team had only six weeks to build a robot, Bear Bot 3, from scratch. This year’s robots had to navigate a slick surface while pulling trailers and colleting soccer-size balls. The team placed 41st out of 64 participating schools.

Scholarship award

The Spokane Valley Chamber Foundation recently announced Tal Williams as the winner of the $500 Sam Campbell Memorial Scholarship. Williams, a student at The Oaks Academy, is the son of Bruce and Susan Williams, of Spokane Valley. He plans to study business administration and one day open his own restaurant.